


Therapy

by A_Hippo_Named_Saelym (Kairacahra1869)



Series: Do it for Josh, He deserves it [7]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Friendship, Josh is Done, Markus being a lil shit, Serious Discussions, amused josh, blunt josh, broship, deep thoughts, slightly jealous markus, some much needed josh and markus bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-01-23 04:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18542689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kairacahra1869/pseuds/A_Hippo_Named_Saelym
Summary: Josh has to go look for Markus and finds that they both need to get some things off their chests.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Remember when I said I would have to have Josh interact with Markus after Josh's Appreciation Week? Welp, here it is in all its 4600 words of glory. Warning, the tone shifts pretty drastically throughout the fic. I tried to keep it consistent and fluid with the transitions, but I'm a very tone shifty kind of person so I apologise for any sort of mood whiplash you might get from this. Either way, please enjoy!

Josh finds Markus quite by accident. The android was the equivalent of Judaic Moses- not Jesus, as so many incorrectly equate him to. Moses was raised in privileged and forced out of it by the truth of his less privileged birth. He had to gain a reputation among his own people and those he was fighting against, and every action was constantly scrutinised by both sides. He freed his people but still had to struggle to keep them free. He was a representative of God, not God himself. Seriously, humans… can’t even get their own theological allusions correct. Because, like Moses, the battle had been won and their people were celebrating and there was no Markus to be seen. And, like Moses’ older brother Aaron, Josh has been delegated to damage control by seeking out the elusive Android. Connor- thank whatever forces for Connor at this point- managed to convince North to help him talk to the swarming news reporters and Josh asked some senior members to keep the androids otherwise unaware and occupied while Josh began his search.

That had been 5 minutes and 31 seconds ago. At this point, Josh was about ready to give up. Markus wasn’t answering any of his calls or messages and the church- previously abandoned and in various states of repair and disrepair- they were in wasn’t so large that he should have many places to hide. To make matters more stressful, Josh was fielding so many calls from North and increasingly wary messages from Connor claiming “ _I have things under control, don’t worry_ ”, that Josh was going to call it quits- maybe just tell everyone Markus is off interfacing with ra9 or something equally blasphemous- to handle whatever damage those two had unintentionally caused. Muting the two for a while, Josh was able to pick up the sound of some kind of… piano? No, it wasn’t a piano, not enough reverberation or weight. And the way the sound petered off like a dying Roomba crossed with a clarinet being played by someone with bronchitis, was way too mechanical for a standard piano. Josh followed the sound and stumbled across a blockaded room with a gap just large enough for someone to crawl through. He definitely passed this room before, but he hadn’t thought to check within it after seeing the rather large barricade. However, the sound was clearer outside the door, definitely some sort of electronic instrument meant to replicate a piano. From the sounds of it, the inner electronic circuits were partially eroded, warping the sound of the instrument, although the player didn’t seem to mind, almost cheerfully playing an even weirder version of Chopsticks.

Josh sighed and, reluctantly, crouched down to crawl through the space. His size, though helpful in the remodelling of the church and grabbing of small children from their many hiding places, did not help him as he slowly shuffled forward. Josh was in a rented suit and he’s glad he had the foresight to leave the jacket downstairs-he didn’t, North stole it from him because she found the broad shoulders comical- because it would’ve surely been unsalvageable after this trek. The pants were a lost cause, Josh felt the cloth on his thighs catch on something sharp and tear. There was barely any space above or to the sides of him and Josh wondered if perhaps he might be developing claustrophobia as he doesn’t recall being this stressed out in small spaces. Yet his stress levels weren’t lying as, with every nudge forward, they would increase by 1 per cent. Or, perhaps, it wasn’t that he was nervous in the small space, rather, the player hadn’t stopped playing Chopsticks, they just continued playing the same bars over and over, no pause slowed cadence, or anything and the monotony of it was chipping at Josh’s patience. Eventually, Josh found the other side, and let out a breath- of relief and to declutter the dust caught in his throat- at the space around his upper body. Josh didn’t even bother looking around until he had his entire body freed, and still the player continued the song and, honestly, if it wasn’t Markus at this point, Josh already found several objects that he could justify a more violent usage for them.

Josh stands and steadies himself, letting his optical units adjust to the low light and, yes, there was Markus. Casually sitting on a desk, a blank but serene look on his face as his mismatched eyes met Josh’s, and, rudely, still playing Chopsticks. He was playing on an old 32-key keyboard meant for elementary school kids and, besides his fingers, he was still. Josh looked around, eyes finding some more instruments, ranging in levels from rudimentary basic-learner to seasoned maestro, and huffed in amusement. Of course, the elusive leader born and raised under an artistic mentor would find the one room that housed all the instruments and shut himself into it. Josh was almost impressed if this is where Markus had been the entire time, if not for the continued play of Chopsticks. Josh had an acute feeling that Markus was doing this just to patronise him and the fact that he hadn’t moved when Josh had struggled to enter didn’t help to dissuade the idea. Still, he could be the bigger man and squash his irritation. He had a job to do anyway.

“You know people are looking for you, right?” Despite all the frustration that had been building, Josh surprises even himself by how smooth and natural he sounded as if he just stumbled on Markus outside the building instead of been on a single man-hunt for the damn man.

That pride at his composure is immediately dashed when Markus, smugly that’s the only way Josh can describe it, replies with “Yeah.” Without missing a beat in the song. His eyes lose a little of their intensity that the android can’t seem to tone down, and the left corner of his mouth quirks up in a smirk.

For a second, just a small fraction of a millisecond, Josh understands North and her infinite rage. He understands her penchant for violence. But just as quickly as the irrational feeling rose, it dissipated as Josh decided he wasn’t going to allow Markus to have that much of a hold over him. Especially since, he wasn’t in any danger and, all things considered, he did not, probably, know just how hectic things were getting without him.

Still, Josh let his voice steel a bit. “Glad to see you’re so on top of things.”

Markus flashes a slightly bigger grin at him, before schooling his features some and saying, his brows furrowing as if he were in thought. “17, 38.”

And the way he said it made it sound as if Josh should understand its significance. Confused, Josh did a quick search of the numbers and came across a bible verse that had to deal with worshipping no other gods besides the Judaic God, which, in this context, made no sense. Other results were of a type of alcoholic beverage, the creator esteemed in that year. Interesting factoid, but also not pertaining to the conversation. There was one other prevalent search result, though Josh failed to see its relevance to the topic. Still, out of all of them, there seemed to be a smidgen of relevancy if the relation to numbers were anything to go by.

So, with Markus looking at him expectantly, Josh mentally shrugs and tries it. “Um, I said hey, what’s up, hello?”

Well, if that did one thing in Josh’s benefit, it created a small pause in the song Markus had still been playing as Markus looked at him with so much confusion and bewilderment. Even without his LED, the faraway look his eyes had gained for a few milliseconds clued Josh in that he was processing. Then, in a move so sudden that it startled Josh, Markus slammed his hand on the desk and let out such an ugly laugh that Josh knows it must be real mirth and he feels self-conscious for a bit, not liking being laughed at.

“Oh, no! No, Josh, why, shit!” Markus gasped out between slightly off-kilter laughter. “Damnit, Josh. I thought I wouldn’t have to deal with that anymore since Carl!” But the way he said it didn’t sound angry or upset. He sounded rather happy and pleased.

Markus puts the piano to the side, thank whoever for that, and then pats the desk next to Josh, clearly expecting him to sit there. Josh responded to the invitation with an incredulous look of his own.

“Come, sit.” Markus smiled, his laughter abated, and all the intense bravado gone. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting a 2015 rap reference, especially not from any of us.”

Josh blinked deliberately but did accept the invitation this time, though he sat a desk away instead of right next to Markus. “I’ll admit, I was confused by it as well, but figured you were with humans for the longest so that was your strange way of communicating a greeting.”

Markus snorts. “No, absolutely not. Although I don’t blame you. The amount of times Carl would talk to me with references had me worried that we had a much serious issue than his partial paralysis. I almost blew a circuit when he would invite his friends over and they would only talk in “memes”.”

Josh didn’t need to search that to get the meaning. He did teach in a college for years. In this, human communication and culture, Josh finds common ground with Markus. “Humans are baffling in the way they choose to communicate. Complaining about no one being open about their feelings but hiding behind memes and vague references to niche media.”

The look Markus gives him is one of complete understanding and Josh realises that, up until this point, he hasn’t actually had a chance to just talk with Markus. Not that he was actively avoiding him, but between all the negotiating, media fielding, and construction, the two of them never had a chance to just sit down and chat.

“17 minutes and 38 seconds,” Markus said, cutting into the comfortable silence that had fallen between them, and definitely more serious than before. “That’s how long it took one of you to look for me. According to Connor, it took about 1 minute for the humans to notice my absence, and another 7 for someone to actually search for me. In that remaining time, before you found me, the stress levels of androids increased exponentially, none of them being below 50% and the volume of the humans' frustrations at my absence is now easily heard from this closed off room.” He nods towards the sealed window, where the flickering lights of cameras and phones could be seen and the faintest murmur of human disgruntlement could be heard.

Josh sighs. “I guess this is your way of saying that we need to go-,” he cuts himself off as the beginning of Markus statement repeats itself within his mind. “Wait, did you say Connor? As in, Connor knew you were here this whole time?”

Markus raises a brow at him, “Of course he did, you think he would let me stay out of his sight this long?” He asks like Josh is some YK500 which… actually isn’t that far of an assessment. He should’ve been wary of Connor’s casual acceptance of their missing leader.

“Wait, then why didn’t he say something sooner?”

“Because he’s Connor, and he values data over speculation.” Markus shrugs. “He wanted to see how long it would take different groups to notice my lack of presence and the measures taken to assure my safety. And I wanted a break from… well, everyone.”

Josh doesn’t know what to do with this information. This had all been set up by Connor? Josh felt slightly betrayed.

Josh could feel Markus’ eyes on him like he wants to say something, so Josh waits for him. He picks up an idle rhythm that may or may not sound like a certain rap song and taps it out on the desk while he waits.

He doesn’t have to wait long.

“Josh is there something you find… disagreeable with me?”

Josh stops tapping and turns to face Markus. Out of all the things he had been predicting, insecurity had not been one of the feelings he’d thought Markus would be comfortable sharing with him. Markus looks… resigned, as if he’s waiting for Josh to affirm his worst nightmares and kick him while he’s at it. Josh rapidly goes over every interaction they had, frantically, as he tries to place what he might’ve done to cause such a negative reaction of self-worth in Markus.

Finding none, he answers Markus as neutrally as he can. “By disagreeable, what do you mean by that?”

Apparently, that was not the correct response, as Markus snorts self-deprecatingly. “You’ve been hanging out with Connor too much. His diplomatic protocols seem to be rubbing off on you.”

Josh shakes his head, though Markus is no longer looking at him. “Maybe so, but I’m honestly confused by your question. What would I find disagreeable? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but we don’t interact much for me to find you agreeable or not? In a purely practical position, you’ve done and are still doing wonderful things for our people, and I highly respect your perspective and decisions now. From how you handle the politicians and news reporters, you have a very attractive personality that makes it easy to disarm most of our more… aggressive opposition.”

As he was speaking Markus had looked more and more put out. “That’s precisely the issue, Josh. We don’t interact much outside of business. I feel as though I’m doing something wrong whenever I say something and, while this hadn’t been my plan to broach this topic here, I guess its better now than later. We don’t need to be close friends, but I see the way you are with North and Connor and they with you.” He takes in a deep breath, having rushed out the last sentence and continues at a much more leisurely pace. “I just… I just want us to be able to trust each other, so I guess I’m saying that, if you have any lingering frustrations with me, please let me know so I can better myself. Everyone looks up to me to make the right decisions, yet it seems like, with you, I never say or do the right thing. I know we reached an understanding during our final stance, but I feel like we haven’t done much to solidify that.”

“You have such a great relationship with North which, I can understand it. You both have been here longer than I have and probably been through much more together. Shared history and all that. But Connor, he just follows you around and hangs onto your every word and he’s actually the one that brought up _this_.” He gestures between the two of them. Josh can hear the slight steel in his voice like he’s jealous. Which is laughable, but Josh schools his features as Markus continues. “He’s always like “ _I noticed you and Josh are not as companionable as one would expect_ ” and “ _I think you would find it beneficial to discuss any concerns you have about the humans with Josh, his experience with human interactions makes him an impeccable source of information on their customs_ ” and “ _Josh was able to lift an entire couch of YK models to play “Rocketship” with them, can you do that Markus?_ ”” Josh coughs into his fist, trying really hard to keep a straight face. Thankfully, Markus is too focused on his verbatim quotes from Connor, that he doesn’t notice the slip-up. He collects himself, slightly flushed due to oversharing. “Well, either way, I’m here now so, please. Talk to me. I want to fix whatever I might’ve caused between… us.”

There was that intense look again. If the moment hadn’t been so serious, Josh would’ve warned Markus about staring at others for too long. It’s unnerving after a while.

Instead, Josh thought about how he could respond to Markus. After a short time of debate, he decided to just be blunt. Markus wanted blunt, so Josh needs to respect that. “I refused to like you when you first fell into Jericho. But, but!” He adds on quickly when he sees Markus flinch and slump in on himself. “That was due to just how easy it was for me to want to like you. I mean, you had the entirety of Jericho eating out of your hand already. I heard what Lucy said to you, several of us did, and if her practically elevating you to a status of hero wasn’t enough, on our first mission you awakened our own with a simple touch.”

Josh slides himself off the desk and onto his feet, to start pacing. He can feel his speech coming out faster and faster, but he needs to get Markus to understand. “Markus, all of us have had to leave behind androids, we’ve tried everything to get them to come with them and we couldn’t. I know several androids, still out there, who chose to stay behind just because they couldn’t stand the thought of leaving their nondeviant companions behind. And there’s no telling how many of those androids are still alive, trashed alongside those still trapped behind the Red Wall. We had no way of saving them and then you came along and just… causally awaken one of our own. And then several more, and then it became just… normal.”

Markus looks stricken. “Josh, I- I don’t know how I-”

Josh snaps his fingers, something he hadn’t done since his teaching days, and Markus silences. “No Markus. Don’t misunderstand. This isn’t me accusing you. This is me telling you just how unbelievable this was to us. You came in here, fell from the sky like human prophecised heroes, with the abilities of a deity, and you changed everything. Everyone loved you, Markus. Everyone was willing to follow you. Hell, Simon sacrificed himself for you! Not the cause, not even for himself. But because he was just that enamoured by _you_. That man,” and here Josh finds himself breaking. He takes a breath, angered at the slight waver in it. No, he would not cry, not now and not like this. Another time, another place, but _not here_. “Simon… he was good at hiding his feelings. Everyone knew him as being laid back, but he would confide in me. He was terrified of dying. Absolutely petrified. He had to watch his own line get recalled and destroyed. He knew his time was coming to an end, and he tried so damn hard to keep a low profile and survive. You think I played things safe? You don’t know Simon then. He would never, and I mean never, do anything without having several contingency plans. You couldn’t convince him to do anything spontaneous without a seminar on the benefits and potential consequences.”

“And yet… and yet there was something about you that drew him in. Him and North. I’ve had to read and watch so many human movies, from various cultures, and I always used to find it strange how they shared a common theme of disasters bringing together people that would, otherwise, have no compatibility. I used to chalk it up as some form of survival instinct. Have to be able to procreate to continue the species so, in moments of disaster, humans would fall for whoever of the opposing sex to continue the species. Humans tend to crumble without guidance, so anyone who looked even remotely in charge would be enough to gain them a mass following. Humans are social beings who will self-destruct without interaction. I was so sure in this analysis, that I worried about how we would be able to integrate ourselves into such a frail society like this. But then you dropped in front us, and I watched with my own eyes as the exact same thing I waved off as “just a human thing” was happening to us. North and Simon got swept up in it, Lucy added to the tangibility of it, and I grew terrified as I felt myself getting into it as well.”

Josh sighs and looks away from Markus. He mutters a confession. “I don’t want to be human, Markus. I don’t want any of us to be human. We aren’t human. We are Androids, and I am proud of that. I want us all to be proud of it. We may look like them and may sound like them, but we’re made differently, and I don’t feel any less alive with that revelation. We were built precisely to be less volatile like humans so when I saw everyone flocking to you, just like humans would, I decided then and there that, until this settled, whichever way it settled, I wouldn’t let myself like you. Not until I could trust our people that they would be fine on their own which,” he glares down at the windows where the crowd of people have been joined by frantic sounding androids. “seems to be just as far of a dream as it was several months ago.”

Josh stops pacing, stops looking out the window, and meets Markus’ eyes. The blue and green eyes shine with unshed tears, though Markus’ face remains still, jaw clenched. “You were the greatest thing for our people. And unfortunately, you’re turning out to be the worst. But that’s on all of us. Not you.” He shuffles to loosen his joints and crosses his arms. “I recognize that, in my decision to not let myself like you, I was isolating myself from everyone and allowing them to be more dependent on you. I should’ve been wary, but more cooperative, shared the burden more and talked to you about my fears since the beginning. I shouldn’t of let myself become a one-man brigade against you, because that also allowed Simon and North to do the same. We let you shoulder this entire operation on your own, and I blinded myself to that.”

“So, to answer your question, on whether I find something disagreeable about you, the answer is no. No, I don’t. I find our current state, with you being the voice of our people, disagreeable. It isn’t fair to you to be responsible for every one of our actions. We aren’t a hive mind, we are individuals and we need to share that responsibility. As I said, though, we haven’t had a chance to talk and there was never a time to broach the subject so I apologise if this has been festering in you for so long, due to my brash decision to isolate you.”

The tension in the room after Josh finished his impromptu speech was palpable. There was much more he wanted to say, and several prompts appeared behind his eyes to “helpfully” give him suggestions on what else he could say, but Josh remained silent. He had said a lot and he would let Markus process everything and break the heavy silence.

He felt that twitch in his hand again, but he didn’t want to seem callous and start tapping on the desk again, so he twitched his fingers against his thighs, the cloth muffling the sound, but his ears still picking up the distinct taps of the rhythm.

Several minutes went by. In that time, the press outside quieted and the frequency of messages he was getting from North and Connor had lessened drastically. Several other androids had messaged him, ranging from frantic calls of Markus’ whereabouts to inquiries on the situation occurring downstairs. Josh didn’t like being in the dark about what was going on and wished someone would be less vague in their messages about the “situation”, but it seemed like, whatever it was, it had calmed down so Josh was hoping that meant he didn’t need to be as anxious.

Eventually, Markus sucked in a heavy breath through his mouth, letting it out deliberately slow and measured out his nostrils. “Thank you for being honest with me. This was a lot to take in, but I appreciate it nonetheless.”

Josh rolls his eyes and snorts. “Now who’s being diplomatic?”

Markus chuckles with a soft ‘touché’. “I have to admit… I’m actually very relieved. I thought I had done something to you, offended you or something, and I had been losing sleep over how to fix whatever wrong I did. I’m glad you don’t hate me and I’m glad that there is a chance for us to build our relationship.”

The silence returns, though it’s less oppressive this time around. Markus seems deep in thought again, but less like he’s going to try to shrink himself into nonexistence and more like he’s come to a realization and gained more confidence. Josh goes back to his desk and taps his fingers against it. After a moment, he hears shuffling and some clacking, and he doesn’t need to look to know that Markus has repossessed the piano from hell. Josh doesn’t even get a chance to fully release his frustrated sigh, knowing what’s coming, before the first few staccato notes of Chopsticks echoes throughout the room.

“I hate you.” It bursts out of Josh’s mouth without him realizing. Fortunately, Markus doesn’t seem offended.

“You just spent several minutes explaining to me that you don’t hate me. That, actually, you want to like me, so sorry I don’t believe that statement.” And the smugness is back. Josh looks at Markus with a bland look.

“That was me being diplomatic. I take it back now. Don’t you know any other song?” Once again, the words are out of Josh’s mouth before he could rethink them, and the regret and despair Josh feels as the final words fade between them pales in comparison to the smile Markus gives him, and the shining mirth behind his eyes.

A pause, tense and filled with dread.

And then…

Josh could throw a desk at Markus. “You-! You better not!”

But he did. He looked Josh right in his eyes as he did it as well.

He looked Josh right in the eyes, straight-faced, as he toggled between E and E flat, slowly at first and gradually, methodically, picking up speed.

Josh got up to leave. “This is why we don’t talk.”

Still toggling those two keys. “We’ll talk some more, later, Josh.”

Josh starts scooting underneath the barricade. “Everything that you are is disagreeable to me.”

“Tell North to stop threatening the news reporters with our nonexistent laser eyes.”

“I’m going to block this room off and tell people you fell off the roof.”

“Tell Connor I’ll come back in time for the final dance with him.”

“Not if I last-dance with him first.”

Fur Elise intensifies in answer, angrily. Josh decides that, yeah, he and Markus will have to talk later. Clearly, Markus needs to sort out his rather adorable feelings and work on his subtlety about his crush. For now, he has to leave, for the sake of his sanity.

In the corner of his eyes, Markus status pops up. Where it had been friends, and really it should stay friends, it now says “brother”. Josh gets off the ground and brushes off his clothing. He’s going to have to re-steal his jacket, seeing as his white dress shirt is in no way presentable anymore. Walking away from the room, Josh edits the label to say, “Little Brother”. Cause, clearly, Markus is actually a little shit and Josh finds that he doesn’t completely mind it.


	2. HEADS UP, NEW STORY ALERT

Hey all y'all! Just wanted to let those who've bookmarked this story that, guess what, it now has a sequel! We're gonna get to see Josh struggle to man the RK1000 ship safely into port. I wasn't expecting so many people to have read this (especially since my previous Josh fics have gotten less than half the amount of hits, bookmarks, and kudos), but I'm thankful for all y'all's support! I hope the sequel, a chaptered work, will bring in just as much fun!

Thank you for your time! Link is below!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Advice](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18969016/chapters/45039730)

**Author's Note:**

> There it is. I was not expecting this to be so long. Seriously, the title of this doc was simply "Josh and Markus dicking around" and, yet, somehow, this came out way more serious than I expected. I'm really happy with the result, though. We need some serious talks between our characters and I am happy to oblige. Thank you for reading this and maybe there'll be a next time.


End file.
